POUNDED by shells but protected from agriculture, a live firing range in Purbeck boasts some of the rarest pond life in the country.

Ponds on Ministry of Defence land on the Lulworth firing ranges at Povington have been found to contain a caddis larva never before recorded in Dorset and a number of nationally scarce insects and plants.

These include the small red damselfly and the Downy Emerald dragonfly, the threatened medicinal leach, pilwort rare aquatic fern and rare beetles.

The 11 ponds were investigated as part of the Purbeck Important Ponds Project and feature high on the list of the best of the area’s ponds.

“The exciting thing about these ponds is that, while they do not have a vast range of species because they are naturally acidic, many of the species that they do have are rare and certainly special to this kind of habitat,” said Rachel Janes, Dorset Wildlife Trust’s Purbeck pond project co-ordinator.

“These ponds are extremely important nationally,” she added.

Stuart Otway, head of Natural Environment for Defence Estates said management of defence estate land presented an enormous challenge because of its size and diversity.

“It is vital that we provide the right facilities needed to train and prepare our service personnel, in particular for current operations in Afghanistan,” he said.

“But we must also balance that requirement with sensible stewardship of the estate.”

Oliver Howells, natural environment advisor for Defence Estates said: “The ponds across Lulworth Ranges receive no active management and the survey has shown how pristine these ponds are because they’ve not been drained or modified. The fact they’ve never been stocked with fish is also very important.”

The ranges are grazed by cattle to benefit the heathland habitat and shell holes and tank tracks can create small pools of damp craters where bog plants can thrive.